Dear Brother Archons and Friends of the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate:

Tomorrow, Thanksgiving Day once again provides us with a marvelous opportunity as Orthodox Christians to take some time to recall the rich blessings Almighty God has bestowed upon us over this past year, and to give thanks to Him for His super-abundant blessings.

Above all, we give thanks to our Heavenly Father for another year of the extraordinary global ministry of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. Just weeks ago, on Nov. 2, 2024, the faithful worldwide celebrated the 34th Anniversary of the Enthronement of His All-Holiness as the 269th direct successor of Saint Andrew the First Called Apostle.

His All-Holiness is the longest-serving and one of the most consequential, intrepid and visionary worldwide spiritual fathers that the Church has ever had. Our much-beloved Ecumenical Patriarch has demonstrated his unshakeable determination to serving God and His Church, no matter what the cost, in his courageous decision to grant autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church; in his pursuance of dialogue both within the Holy Orthodox Church and with leaders of other faith traditions; in his prophetic witness to the world regarding the necessity to care for God’s creation; in his loving care for each of the faithful as he guides us in following the path of our Lord Jesus Christ; and in so very much more. We are deeply grateful to be able to serve in His All-Holiness’ world-historical diakonia.

2024 also marked the fifth anniversary of the enthronement of His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros as Archbishop of America and Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. With a seemingly endless store of energy, His Eminence has worked to bring renewal to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America traveling throughout the United States making archpastoral visitations to countless parishes. He has overseen the opening of Saint Nicholas Church and National Shrine at Ground Zero and continues to nurture the spiritual well-being of his flock in America.

For the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate (AEP), this has been a year of numerous milestone accomplishments. In May, the historic 4th Archon International Conference on Religious Freedom was held in Athens, Greece. The conference was an unprecedented international endeavor, organized and hosted by the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in America, Canada, Europe and Australia, and was followed by the historic First Global Summit of Archons: Protecting the Future of Faith, the first-ever, but God willing not the last, meeting of Archons from around the world.

Also this year, the AEP created the Archon Sprout Program, a groundbreaking and unique Sunday School program that enables educators to introduce their students to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and to the challenges that His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the Holy Mother Church of Constantinople face today regarding religious freedom. Our devoted professional educators who contributed hundreds of hours pro bono to create an age and grade-specific curriculum from pre-K to high school to educate our Catechism Students on the canonical, historical and ecclesiastical significance of The Great Church of Christ and the longest serving Ecumenical Patriarch in history, His All-Holiness BARTHOLOMEW, deserve our utmost gratitude: Dr. Helen Nixon and Katina Limberakis Tsatalis, M.Ed. Archon Nick Tranto, Chair of the Archon Youth Activities Committee and his splendid team really hit the ball out of the park with this initiative dedicated to our youth, the present and future of our Holy Orthodox Faith.

The Archon Sprout Program is being unveiled in conjunction with the new annual observance of “Archon Sunday” on the Sunday closest to the feast of St. Andrew, November 30. On Sunday, December 1, an Archiepiscopal Encyclical will be circulated to all churches in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, and Archons all over the country will have an opportunity to introduce their parishes to the sacred mission of the Archons to protect the future of faith and safeguard the global ministry of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. (Remember: Archon Sunday and the Sprout launch for some may have taken place on this past Sunday, November 24.)

In addition, the activities of the eleven Archon Engagement Committees continue to be impressive, giving every single Archon the ability to live out his diakonia for the Holy Mother Church in a way that is tailored to his own talents and abilities. The Engagement Committees are laboring tirelessly to raise awareness about our Ecumenical Patriarchate and other key issues all over the country; four hundred Archons are fully engaged in the Engagement Committees.

At Archon Weekend, we presented the Athenagoras Human Rights Award to the courageous Russian dissident Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of martyred Russian hero Alexei Navalny and now herself the leader of the Russian opposition. Archon Peter J. Skeadas received the Nicholas J. Bouras Award for Extraordinary Archon Stewardship; and Archon John G. Gumas received the Archon Sophia Award For Excellence. Also during the Weekend, 28 new Archons were invested, joining our ongoing efforts to defend the religious freedom of our Ecumenical Patriarchate.

I express my profound gratitude to the Archon Leadership: the Hon. B. T. Bozonelis our superlative National Vice Commander; Peter J. Skeadas, National Treasurer; Kosmas Gus Pablecas (“the Archons are the Last Line of Defense”); National Secretary, Peter Kakoyiannis, Esq., Legal Counselor; Alex Pritsos, Sgt. At Arms; Andreas D. Comodromos, CPA, Assistant Treasurer; Prof. George Demacopoulos, Historian; fearless John A. Catsimatidis (“Freedom is not Free”); our essential Religious Freedom Chair, Rocky Sisson, Communications Chair and our incredible Regional Commanders whose activities inspire and impress, as do the activities of the Chairs and Vice Chairs of the Engagement Committees. Allow me to express special and deep appreciation to Archon Michael G. Psaros whose philanthropy is as generous as it is far-reaching in all the initiatives of the AEP. To Archon John Mindala and Leah Kats I offer heartfelt thanksgiving for their 24/7/365 selfless devotion to the AEP and the EPBF.

We remain immensely thankful to our loving God for the sacred ministry of Their Eminences the Metropolitans of the Eparchial Synod, and of our Spiritual Advisor, the Rev. Protopresbyter Alex Karloutsos who has had and continues to have an extraordinary impact on the sacred mission of the AEP, as well as the EPBF, on both sides of a the Atlantic! And we thank our dearest Presbytera Xanthi who adds the elegant touch to all our initiatives, most especially apparent during Archon Weekend and the watershed 4th Archon Conference on International Religious Freedom.

As a PK (priest’s kid) I am immensely grateful to each one of our parish priests and their Presbyteres, who have given their lives to the service of the Holy Orthodox Church in America.

On this Thanksgiving Day, I wish above all to express the utmost gratitude to our Lord Jesus Christ and His All-Holy Mother the Theotokos for the unparalleled diakonia of our beloved wives and families. My own dear wife Maria, as well as my adult children, Anthony (IT) and Elizabeth (Communications / Social Media), who contribute in their own unique and substantive ways to the sacred mission of the AEP deserve our heartfelt appreciation. Truly the Archon Family is fully engaged to serve the needs of the Holy and Great Church of Christ.

May you and your families enjoy a profoundly blessed Thanksgiving Day, as well as a joyous Feastday of Saint Andrew the First-Called Apostle, for whom our Order is named, on November 30.

In devoted service to our Holy Mother Church,